Email recieved from out student government recreational leaders
subject: POST MCBM SHINANIGANS- DO NOT DELETE...unless youre booooooooring
So here is the deal. Thursday night following the MCBM final we will be meeting up at Piano Piano. It's a bar with a dueling piano show so if you've never been to one then it is definitely worth checking out because they are usually pretty darn entertaining. Doors open at 6 and the piano guys start up about 8 (but you can show up whenever). Your college ID will get you to the front of the line should there be one and since its Thursday night that means $3 CORONA and $5 Jager!!!! There is also a $5 cover but just in case we cant get it waved (because we are awesome desperately poor health professions students) be prepared for that.
We have also be told that on Thursday nights the bar holds a "biggest group contest" with the bar buying a round for the winners. To date the biggest group has been 16...we think we have this one in the bag.
So come out and join your classmates for a good time at:
AND DONT FORGET YOUR DD OR FRIENDLY LOCAL YELLOW CAB DRIVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our Endless Love,
E and A
Follow up email:
UPDATE: NO COVER!!!!!!!! that $5 now stays in your pocket!
$3 Corona
$5 Jagerbombs (gross...but maybe you will feel like an undergrad again and remember that at one point life was good)
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
almost there!!
i am getting lazy and don't feel like writing. more so, i dont feel like staring at my computer screen any longer than i have to since i have been looking at it for aprox 8 hours a day...for 4 months straight. and 8 is low ballin it...
my first semester of medical school is almost over. i am done with classes (today was our last day of lectures) and they give us two days off to study, then we have our last exam Thursday morning. these 2 days are more like, "haha, we expected you to have learned all this stuff in the past 2 weeks but know you havent so here are 2 bonus days to stay up and cram." i, however, am taking the high road and going to bed early. well, maybe not since I will be waking up at 8 to start my glorious day of staring at my computer screen some more.
have i mentioned that medical school could be known as 'death by powerpoint'...
Monday, December 7, 2009
Another biochemistry dosey...
jaundice refers to the yellow color of skin, nail beds, and sclera (whites of the eyes) caused by deposition of a protein called bilirubin. (FYI bilirubin is what makes your poo brown and your pee yellow- technical medical terms i know). Jaundice is not a disease but a symptom of many diseases.
jaundice in premature newborns is elevated because a certain enzyme to break it down does not reach adult levels until about 4 weeks after birth. thus, premature babies may turn yellow.
to solve this problem, i am taught to shine a blue fluorescent light on them to convert the bilirubin into a more water soluble form which can be excreted through urine.
moral of the story...
Yellow Baby+ Blue Light= health
haha
jaundice in premature newborns is elevated because a certain enzyme to break it down does not reach adult levels until about 4 weeks after birth. thus, premature babies may turn yellow.
to solve this problem, i am taught to shine a blue fluorescent light on them to convert the bilirubin into a more water soluble form which can be excreted through urine.
moral of the story...
Yellow Baby+ Blue Light= health
haha
Saturday, December 5, 2009
the hungrier you are, the longer you will live
During a lecture on the metabolism of fats in our diet in our biochemistry class, my professor cited a study. This study was conducted over 20 years and had two sets of cohorts, regularly fed monkeys and then monkeys that were given 1/3 less calories than the 'control' monkeys. The monkeys who had their calories restricted lived longer healthier lives.
"the reason i bring this up is because we are talking about fats...and most of the calories we are taking in come from fats. i wish i had known this 20 years ago but you guys have no excuse so ya know...raise your children right and ya know, i guess its better to be a little bit hungry. hey, the restriction part does not mean malnutrition."
-Prof B
"the reason i bring this up is because we are talking about fats...and most of the calories we are taking in come from fats. i wish i had known this 20 years ago but you guys have no excuse so ya know...raise your children right and ya know, i guess its better to be a little bit hungry. hey, the restriction part does not mean malnutrition."
-Prof B
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
I PASSED
and i didnt just pass....i did really well :) above average well.
feels good, feels damn good!
feels good, feels damn good!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
To Recap...
30 powerpoints with aprox. 40 slides each (some had more, some had way less)
36 word documents or pdf documents (ranging from 3 to7 pages long)
250 slide powerpoint of histology images (histology is the study of the microscopic structure, chemical composition and function of the tissue or tissue systems of plants and animals--we just did human tissue)
this information was covered in 45 hours of lecture time (in class) spanning 9 days. subjects including physiology, developmental histology (embryology), biochemisty, molecular biology,
i cant (and dont want to) count how many hours i spent studying this material.
today, we had a 3 hour (and i was there until the last minute) exam covering every detail of this information in 125 questions.
and i will do this all over again in 2 and a half weeks.
now i understand why all the 2nd years kept telling us that anatomy was the easiest class. looking back at our exams and the amount of content that was drastically lower, it makes since that they would say this. also, i keep hearing the good news that it only gets harder. i am a little scared.
but, i do have to say taking this test today was a huge accomplishment and i feel damn proud of myself for having survived it. being able to recognize and understand all of the information makes me feel intelligent. now i just need to work on building up my confidence. I CAN DO IT!!
36 word documents or pdf documents (ranging from 3 to7 pages long)
250 slide powerpoint of histology images (histology is the study of the microscopic structure, chemical composition and function of the tissue or tissue systems of plants and animals--we just did human tissue)
this information was covered in 45 hours of lecture time (in class) spanning 9 days. subjects including physiology, developmental histology (embryology), biochemisty, molecular biology,
i cant (and dont want to) count how many hours i spent studying this material.
today, we had a 3 hour (and i was there until the last minute) exam covering every detail of this information in 125 questions.
and i will do this all over again in 2 and a half weeks.
now i understand why all the 2nd years kept telling us that anatomy was the easiest class. looking back at our exams and the amount of content that was drastically lower, it makes since that they would say this. also, i keep hearing the good news that it only gets harder. i am a little scared.
but, i do have to say taking this test today was a huge accomplishment and i feel damn proud of myself for having survived it. being able to recognize and understand all of the information makes me feel intelligent. now i just need to work on building up my confidence. I CAN DO IT!!
Monday, November 30, 2009
i have a headache...had it for the past 2 days
How have i studied for 4 days SOLID and i STILL feel like i am going to fail this test tomorrow?
welcome to medical school
welcome to medical school
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
couple days off
I am taking a day off and trying to pretend that I live a normal life. No books today. sadly, i feel guilty as a watch TV or run errands because I have a lil voice in the back of my mind saying 'tuesday's test is coming up fast and you are not nearly as prepared as you need to be.' But, tonight i plan on drinking away that voice so hopefully i can relax. I have my 5 year high school reunion tonight and am very excited to go out and have a good time with old friends! then, we will have our classic reunion at the dive bar in town and i will get to see more old friends. thanksgiving isnt gonna be a great one this year because of school work i need to do and family not being together but its ok because im just counting down until winter break anyways! i cant wait for the feeling of absolute freedom and the complete relaxation of knowing there is NO tests awaiting me.
the last couple weeks have been stressful but i have managed to have lots of fun in between things. we had a powerderpuff football game against the 2nd year medical school girls and as hard as we tried, we still lost. it was a intense game and i walked away with tons of bruises and a hurt knee. now, a week and a half later, my knee is still not back to normal and it is still pretty sore when i am at the gym. im gonna give it another week and if it doesnt get better i guess ill see a doctor....
my OMM finals went well monday and yesterday. we already received our grades online and i know i passed so i am happy and relieved that i dont have to worry about it again until January. now, i am focused on resting up for the next couple days and then getting back to work to improve my MCBM grade. also, my last patient encounter for this semester is coming up and is worth lots of points toward my grade. i will be doing another history and physical. i am looking forward to it because im good at it. and i need a confidence booster at this point. i am burnt out and running on low fuel. hopefully i can recharge and get my ass into gear soon!!
from a friend:
"while everyone's home enjoying the holidays, i will be spending quality time with my 8 professors' 34ppt lectures.. jealous???"
-MM
the last couple weeks have been stressful but i have managed to have lots of fun in between things. we had a powerderpuff football game against the 2nd year medical school girls and as hard as we tried, we still lost. it was a intense game and i walked away with tons of bruises and a hurt knee. now, a week and a half later, my knee is still not back to normal and it is still pretty sore when i am at the gym. im gonna give it another week and if it doesnt get better i guess ill see a doctor....
my OMM finals went well monday and yesterday. we already received our grades online and i know i passed so i am happy and relieved that i dont have to worry about it again until January. now, i am focused on resting up for the next couple days and then getting back to work to improve my MCBM grade. also, my last patient encounter for this semester is coming up and is worth lots of points toward my grade. i will be doing another history and physical. i am looking forward to it because im good at it. and i need a confidence booster at this point. i am burnt out and running on low fuel. hopefully i can recharge and get my ass into gear soon!!
from a friend:
"while everyone's home enjoying the holidays, i will be spending quality time with my 8 professors' 34ppt lectures.. jealous???"
-MM
Friday, November 20, 2009
exams exams exams
Life is crazy right now. I have an OMM final practical on Monday and an OMM written final on Tuesday. Then, I will have a couple days off and will enjoy Thanksgiving day. THEEEEEN I will be studying all thanksgiving weekend for our 2nd MCBM exam which will be the Tuesday after thanksgiving. It is gonna be hard.... and I am a lil...scratch that....a LOT scared.
Monday, November 9, 2009
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
"tomorrow's exam is going to be interesting....never ever had physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, histology and developmental embryology all combined into one exam before."
-JL
That pretty much sums up my exam this morning!
i studied for countless hours, worked my butt off, and yes i passed. it is very hard to accept that no matter how much i study, i will never remember it all. and of course, that leads me to be scared to death for my first board certification exam which i will take the end of my second year...it is on everything i will learn in medical school. cool. awesome.
i wouldnt say i am doubting my decision to go to medical school, i would say i am doubting wether i can get through it. the test i just took was seriously like a final in undergrad. actually, i feel like i am learning a semesters worth of material in 2 weeks and then taking a final every two weeks after. the amount of material and the very small amount of time to learn it is SUCH a brisk pace. im kinda in a funk and need to keep my confidence up. there are just too many smart people around me and i never feel up to par. but, the moments that do help me keep focused are my patient encounters. i feel like a doctor and i am becoming good at it!
Last week i gave my first two physical examinations on people other than my classmates and family/friends. The patients (actors..) were in a gown and all. The first was on Tuesday and i sweat through the entire thing. I did pretty well but forgot some of the history questions i learned to ask for the last encounters. Then, I had my second standardized patient on Thursday and did much better. Made me feel like a good 'almost' doctor!
its the end of the beginning and i have 6 weeks left of my first half of my first year. im gonna be honest and say i am counting the days until Christmas break. i would say thanksgiving but since i have an exam the tuesday after thanksgiving weekend (and its notoriously the hardest of this block) im not really looking forward to it as much. so yeah...christmas. i get 2 weeks off with no new material to learn. PRICELESS
tomorrow is our foundraising powderpuff football game; first year med student girls against the 2nd years. im pretty excited!! of course i am playing and will hopefully kick ass (with no injuries!!)
-JL
That pretty much sums up my exam this morning!
i studied for countless hours, worked my butt off, and yes i passed. it is very hard to accept that no matter how much i study, i will never remember it all. and of course, that leads me to be scared to death for my first board certification exam which i will take the end of my second year...it is on everything i will learn in medical school. cool. awesome.
i wouldnt say i am doubting my decision to go to medical school, i would say i am doubting wether i can get through it. the test i just took was seriously like a final in undergrad. actually, i feel like i am learning a semesters worth of material in 2 weeks and then taking a final every two weeks after. the amount of material and the very small amount of time to learn it is SUCH a brisk pace. im kinda in a funk and need to keep my confidence up. there are just too many smart people around me and i never feel up to par. but, the moments that do help me keep focused are my patient encounters. i feel like a doctor and i am becoming good at it!
Last week i gave my first two physical examinations on people other than my classmates and family/friends. The patients (actors..) were in a gown and all. The first was on Tuesday and i sweat through the entire thing. I did pretty well but forgot some of the history questions i learned to ask for the last encounters. Then, I had my second standardized patient on Thursday and did much better. Made me feel like a good 'almost' doctor!
its the end of the beginning and i have 6 weeks left of my first half of my first year. im gonna be honest and say i am counting the days until Christmas break. i would say thanksgiving but since i have an exam the tuesday after thanksgiving weekend (and its notoriously the hardest of this block) im not really looking forward to it as much. so yeah...christmas. i get 2 weeks off with no new material to learn. PRICELESS
tomorrow is our foundraising powderpuff football game; first year med student girls against the 2nd years. im pretty excited!! of course i am playing and will hopefully kick ass (with no injuries!!)
Friday, November 6, 2009
i dont need to be creative because my classmates are for me...
"Dude, I have nearly 500 Facebook friends, and the only people on at 9:45 on a Friday night are us med school kids. Haha." -Anonymous Medical Student. Oh, and I just happened to be one of them... Sad.'
-AH
-AH
Thursday, November 5, 2009
facebook entertainment
status update:
"just realized classes in med school are a lot like kidney stones...hurt like a bitch, but all you gotta do is pass 'em"
-JH
"just realized classes in med school are a lot like kidney stones...hurt like a bitch, but all you gotta do is pass 'em"
-JH
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Another funny
"You can think of spermatozoa as a torpedo. It is very compact in shape and it has just want it needs to deliver its payload to its target. And that’s its objective, to get its nucleus to an oocyte. Of course, compared to a torpedo, spermatozoa are highly inefficient. You empty about 200 million of them and your lucky if one of them hits the target. Thank god the navy doesn’t work under that kind of efficiency."
-One of my professors in developmental histology
-One of my professors in developmental histology
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Apreso, my new buddy
I am writing this blog to capture school moments and am not using it to go into personal things going on im my life. with that said, i had a very hard week and will be glad when Thanksgiving rolls around and my entire family will be under one roof- hoping that Sydney will be here too :/
Now that anatomy is over life is a little bit more convenient. We used to have an anatomy quiz at the beginning of each lecture. During MCBM (the molecular and cellular basis of medicine) we will not be having quizes so i dont have to be at school everyday for lecture. But, before you start shaking your head thinking i am a slacker...let me tell you about my new wonderful best friend Apreso. This is from their website:
Apreso Classroom is an affordable automated lecture capture and Web publishing system that produces online versions of the classroom experience for on-demand student review.
Apreso Classroom can be scheduled to start and stop automatically, removing the need for professors to learn to operate the system or change the way they teach. It automatically captures and synchronizes the professor's voice with visual aids being projected in the classroom, and posts an interactive, indexed Web-based version of the lecture to university websites or course management system.
Basically, i can sit at home in my pajamas with a fresh cup of coffee and my animals around my feet and watch/listen to my lectures. It is a very convenient way to learn (and save gas money). Also, i have found that it is more effective to learn this way because i can start/stop the lecture and even run it at a higher speed. It is very time effective and i can look up anything i dont understand right there or can skip over stuff that i do. Also, its nice to be able to take breaks during the lecture. In class, i have approximately a 20-30min window of peak learning ability. After that it is bye bye concentration and hello facebook, gchat, ebay, etc etc So, instead of wasting my time in lecutre...i am using it more efficiently at home. The downside is that i wont be at school as often so i will be missing lots of fun times with my classmates but we have a long 4 years together so i am sure i will see them at many other times!
This week starts another long one as i have lots of lectures lined up. Biochemistry, developmental histology, physiology, cytology....the list goes on. Also, on Tuesday afternoon I am making up my patient encounter which i missed a couple weeks ago due to my near death illness (for dramatic effect). I will be giving a physical exam and am pretty damn nervous about it so a friend and I will be practicing on each other tomorrow after school. It is not a FULL physical if you know what i mean...that will come during 2nd year. But, it does include all the basics like eyes, ears, heart and breath sounds, reflexes, blah blah and I have to get their full history either before or during and we are given 30 minutes. Sounds like a long time but its not!
Wednesday I will be dropping off Dad at the airport and will be home alone for 3 1/2 weeks. sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. Yeah, its gonna be a raging study party at my house next weekend sine we have our first MCBM exam Monday. Caffeine buzzes have replaced alcohol buzzes. i am out of control
Now that anatomy is over life is a little bit more convenient. We used to have an anatomy quiz at the beginning of each lecture. During MCBM (the molecular and cellular basis of medicine) we will not be having quizes so i dont have to be at school everyday for lecture. But, before you start shaking your head thinking i am a slacker...let me tell you about my new wonderful best friend Apreso. This is from their website:
Apreso Classroom is an affordable automated lecture capture and Web publishing system that produces online versions of the classroom experience for on-demand student review.
Apreso Classroom can be scheduled to start and stop automatically, removing the need for professors to learn to operate the system or change the way they teach. It automatically captures and synchronizes the professor's voice with visual aids being projected in the classroom, and posts an interactive, indexed Web-based version of the lecture to university websites or course management system.
Basically, i can sit at home in my pajamas with a fresh cup of coffee and my animals around my feet and watch/listen to my lectures. It is a very convenient way to learn (and save gas money). Also, i have found that it is more effective to learn this way because i can start/stop the lecture and even run it at a higher speed. It is very time effective and i can look up anything i dont understand right there or can skip over stuff that i do. Also, its nice to be able to take breaks during the lecture. In class, i have approximately a 20-30min window of peak learning ability. After that it is bye bye concentration and hello facebook, gchat, ebay, etc etc So, instead of wasting my time in lecutre...i am using it more efficiently at home. The downside is that i wont be at school as often so i will be missing lots of fun times with my classmates but we have a long 4 years together so i am sure i will see them at many other times!
This week starts another long one as i have lots of lectures lined up. Biochemistry, developmental histology, physiology, cytology....the list goes on. Also, on Tuesday afternoon I am making up my patient encounter which i missed a couple weeks ago due to my near death illness (for dramatic effect). I will be giving a physical exam and am pretty damn nervous about it so a friend and I will be practicing on each other tomorrow after school. It is not a FULL physical if you know what i mean...that will come during 2nd year. But, it does include all the basics like eyes, ears, heart and breath sounds, reflexes, blah blah and I have to get their full history either before or during and we are given 30 minutes. Sounds like a long time but its not!
Wednesday I will be dropping off Dad at the airport and will be home alone for 3 1/2 weeks. sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. Yeah, its gonna be a raging study party at my house next weekend sine we have our first MCBM exam Monday. Caffeine buzzes have replaced alcohol buzzes. i am out of control
Thursday, October 29, 2009
I have learned the ENTIRE body in excruciating detail....SUCCESS!
written Tuesday Oct 27th
NO MORE ANATOMY. No more formaldehyde, no more fearing getting cancer from formaldehyde, no more stinky clothes, no more messy glovees, no more smelling formaldehyde when I eat my lunch well after lab, no more akward moments of dealing with pink nails, no more dissecting tools, no more sawing off structures of the body that really shouldn’t be sawed off, and of course….no more cutting dead people. Now its on to practicing on the living and breathing ones!
It has obviously been a long time since I have written and that is because I fell victim to disease. Sadly, being in medical school does not prevent me from getting sick. But, it does prevent me from going to school which then sets me back a ton. Missing one day is terrifying let alone 2 and a half (which is what I missed 2 weeks ago). I came to school that week and by Wednesday afternoon I couldn’t take it anymore and I went home. I sucked it up and did my dissection in the morning (even though I know I wasn’t much help anyways) and then I went home to sleep. During these two days and a half days, I missed a Physician and Society class and in class project (which I made up for by writing a 2 page paper on the television show House), 2 anatomy labs (1 being my dissection, another observing)3 anatomy lectures, 2 anatomy quizzes, and to top it off I had to reschedule my patient encounter which I was supposed to do Thursday afternoon. Not to mention I missed a couple of really great parties put on by first and second year! I am very glad I did take time off though because when I finally went to the doctor I got put on a high dose of antibiotics and I was feeling better by the weekend. The weekend I spent studying because we had our Head and Neck anatomy midterm on Monday. (remember Gross Anatomy is separated from Head and Neck Anatomy). We had our midterm at 8am and then 9am we started up again with lab, and then had lecture all afternoon. I came into lab Monday morning and found Lucy’s head complelty off her body and cut right down the middle . Now, I had no problem studying her body because she didn’t look like a body at all. Seriously, anytime I walked up to her or another cadaver it took me a minute just to figure out what I was looking. Orienting anterior and posterior (front and back) is the only way to really understand where you are. Well that and finding the tongue because a tongue cant really be mistaken for anything else.
So that week went on and we learned lots of new fun stuff. We dissected the nose, mouth, and then from the top of the skull (with no brain remember) we found the middle ear and the ear drum. THAT was the coolest thing ever. The 3 tiny little bones that make it possible for you to hear are just that….tiny. and we got to see them and play with them. As you push on one, you can see the ear drum move which moves the rest of them move. It is utterly mind-blowing how our body is made and everyday I forget just how cool it is. But then I get to see Lucy and she reminds me just how complicated and AMAZING the human body really is.
Speaking of which, this past Thursday in Essentials of Clinical Medicine (where we learn how to interact with patients –including our simulated patient encounters- and do physical exams) we learned how to draw blood! My partner was a brave soul but luckily her arm was tiny and her veins were huge so I couldn’t really miss! I got blood on the first try and felt pretty confident about it. So confident that I gave it another try on another friend. Again, his veins were not hard to find so I thought it would be an easy target. Well, it was going very smoothly and I had the needle in his arm and after I let the tourniquet go I kept the needle steady in my left hand and reached for some gauze with my right to put over the injection site as I slid the needle out. Unfortunately, I moved the needle as I turned my body to get the gauze and I pushed the needle a little further in and angled it a little bit up. This caused my partner to voice his discomfort as I slid the needle out of his arm. He then began to describe the pain he was having while the needle was in. It was the same stabbing pain (radiating down his arm) that he was having even after the needle was out of him. I obviously hit a cutaneous (towards the skin) nerve which made him feel some pins and needles in his arm. Don’t worry, the damage isnt serious. He was a very good sport about the whole thing and came up with a very clever way to make me feel better…He told me ‘at least it happened on me and not a patient.’ I obviously still feel bad about it but I guess my overconfidence from having hit blood my first try made me a lil less focused the 2nd time. Something I will definitely work on in the future!
Since I got to take blood on my classmates, it was only fair I return the favor. Both people that practiced on me did a great job and neither caused me any pain or discomfort. I am not an easy stick as my veins are deep so it was an accomplishment that both of them drew my blood on thieir attempts. All and all, it was a successful day that made me feel a little bit closer to becoming a doctor (even though most doctors don’t ever do blood draws! Haha)
As I write this I realize its starting to be a very long post so I will save more details for another entry. I would love to tell you about my head and neck final (that I had Monday) but frankly…I still don’t feel like talking about it. Lets just say I wont be relieved until I see that I passed because I felt like I had been kicked in the head after walking out of the written test. Having metaphorically been kicked in the head and fallen onto the ground in pain, I had my 2:00pm lab practical test to give me a couple more kicks to the stomach to make sure I was really suffereing. All and all….a great way to spend a Monday. But now, after having a very light day I am at home preparing for our next class block to start MCBM- the Molecular and Cellular Basis of Medicine. Oh Joy! The first exam for that bloc is only a week and a half away but we will have had 30 lectures by then so I’m sure they will have plenty of material to test us on! Details of that to come later. ..
Oh, and I am writing this in our pitch black living room with 2 candles and the santa ana winds blowing like crazy outside behind me. Earlier in the evening the power went out because a tree fell onto ‘something important’. Now, I am waiting for the electric company to find that ‘something important’ and fix it so I can use my coffee machine in the morning. God help me, they better fix it by the morning…
NO MORE ANATOMY. No more formaldehyde, no more fearing getting cancer from formaldehyde, no more stinky clothes, no more messy glovees, no more smelling formaldehyde when I eat my lunch well after lab, no more akward moments of dealing with pink nails, no more dissecting tools, no more sawing off structures of the body that really shouldn’t be sawed off, and of course….no more cutting dead people. Now its on to practicing on the living and breathing ones!
It has obviously been a long time since I have written and that is because I fell victim to disease. Sadly, being in medical school does not prevent me from getting sick. But, it does prevent me from going to school which then sets me back a ton. Missing one day is terrifying let alone 2 and a half (which is what I missed 2 weeks ago). I came to school that week and by Wednesday afternoon I couldn’t take it anymore and I went home. I sucked it up and did my dissection in the morning (even though I know I wasn’t much help anyways) and then I went home to sleep. During these two days and a half days, I missed a Physician and Society class and in class project (which I made up for by writing a 2 page paper on the television show House), 2 anatomy labs (1 being my dissection, another observing)3 anatomy lectures, 2 anatomy quizzes, and to top it off I had to reschedule my patient encounter which I was supposed to do Thursday afternoon. Not to mention I missed a couple of really great parties put on by first and second year! I am very glad I did take time off though because when I finally went to the doctor I got put on a high dose of antibiotics and I was feeling better by the weekend. The weekend I spent studying because we had our Head and Neck anatomy midterm on Monday. (remember Gross Anatomy is separated from Head and Neck Anatomy). We had our midterm at 8am and then 9am we started up again with lab, and then had lecture all afternoon. I came into lab Monday morning and found Lucy’s head complelty off her body and cut right down the middle . Now, I had no problem studying her body because she didn’t look like a body at all. Seriously, anytime I walked up to her or another cadaver it took me a minute just to figure out what I was looking. Orienting anterior and posterior (front and back) is the only way to really understand where you are. Well that and finding the tongue because a tongue cant really be mistaken for anything else.
So that week went on and we learned lots of new fun stuff. We dissected the nose, mouth, and then from the top of the skull (with no brain remember) we found the middle ear and the ear drum. THAT was the coolest thing ever. The 3 tiny little bones that make it possible for you to hear are just that….tiny. and we got to see them and play with them. As you push on one, you can see the ear drum move which moves the rest of them move. It is utterly mind-blowing how our body is made and everyday I forget just how cool it is. But then I get to see Lucy and she reminds me just how complicated and AMAZING the human body really is.
Speaking of which, this past Thursday in Essentials of Clinical Medicine (where we learn how to interact with patients –including our simulated patient encounters- and do physical exams) we learned how to draw blood! My partner was a brave soul but luckily her arm was tiny and her veins were huge so I couldn’t really miss! I got blood on the first try and felt pretty confident about it. So confident that I gave it another try on another friend. Again, his veins were not hard to find so I thought it would be an easy target. Well, it was going very smoothly and I had the needle in his arm and after I let the tourniquet go I kept the needle steady in my left hand and reached for some gauze with my right to put over the injection site as I slid the needle out. Unfortunately, I moved the needle as I turned my body to get the gauze and I pushed the needle a little further in and angled it a little bit up. This caused my partner to voice his discomfort as I slid the needle out of his arm. He then began to describe the pain he was having while the needle was in. It was the same stabbing pain (radiating down his arm) that he was having even after the needle was out of him. I obviously hit a cutaneous (towards the skin) nerve which made him feel some pins and needles in his arm. Don’t worry, the damage isnt serious. He was a very good sport about the whole thing and came up with a very clever way to make me feel better…He told me ‘at least it happened on me and not a patient.’ I obviously still feel bad about it but I guess my overconfidence from having hit blood my first try made me a lil less focused the 2nd time. Something I will definitely work on in the future!
Since I got to take blood on my classmates, it was only fair I return the favor. Both people that practiced on me did a great job and neither caused me any pain or discomfort. I am not an easy stick as my veins are deep so it was an accomplishment that both of them drew my blood on thieir attempts. All and all, it was a successful day that made me feel a little bit closer to becoming a doctor (even though most doctors don’t ever do blood draws! Haha)
As I write this I realize its starting to be a very long post so I will save more details for another entry. I would love to tell you about my head and neck final (that I had Monday) but frankly…I still don’t feel like talking about it. Lets just say I wont be relieved until I see that I passed because I felt like I had been kicked in the head after walking out of the written test. Having metaphorically been kicked in the head and fallen onto the ground in pain, I had my 2:00pm lab practical test to give me a couple more kicks to the stomach to make sure I was really suffereing. All and all….a great way to spend a Monday. But now, after having a very light day I am at home preparing for our next class block to start MCBM- the Molecular and Cellular Basis of Medicine. Oh Joy! The first exam for that bloc is only a week and a half away but we will have had 30 lectures by then so I’m sure they will have plenty of material to test us on! Details of that to come later. ..
Oh, and I am writing this in our pitch black living room with 2 candles and the santa ana winds blowing like crazy outside behind me. Earlier in the evening the power went out because a tree fell onto ‘something important’. Now, I am waiting for the electric company to find that ‘something important’ and fix it so I can use my coffee machine in the morning. God help me, they better fix it by the morning…
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
ALMOST THERE!!
Another facebook status from a classmate...
"Two more days of cutting up dead people, next up live people........daaaaaammmmmnnnn"
-BR
"Two more days of cutting up dead people, next up live people........daaaaaammmmmnnnn"
-BR
Monday, October 19, 2009
Last week of formaldehyde...
I will start off with our OMM test last Friday as I promised I would.
The entire day was blocked off and we were bunched into groups of 20 people. My test was at 2:30 so I had a nice day to sleep in a bit and got to school for 11am to study and practice with my group. Right before the test we were given our partners and the next 40 minutes went like this: go into the room, I was the patient for my partner as he did his 20 min test, feedback for him, switch stations to a new grader and then my partner was my patient for the next 20 minutes. Of course with my luck I was being graded by the most good looking student doctor in the bunch and had to get my words out through the lump in my throat (red face blushing and all). The exam started and I talked my way through the whole thing. We are expected to know everything and be able to structurally examine a patient without any papers or notes in front of us. After we diagnose a somatic (muscle) dysfunction of a certain region, we are asked to demonstrate 2 osteopathic manipulative techniques (we don’t get to choose, they tell us). Sounds simple and to the point but it took a LOT of practice to become comfortable with all this. I am really enjoying this class and am very excited to be well practiced in OMM in the future. If you don’t know, learning OMM is what sets myself apart from M.D. physicians. So, as a D.O. physician I am learning everything an MD knows and MORE!!!!
After taking my test on Friday I had a 3 day weekend and started it off right by going out with all my classmates to celebrate surviving our hell week. On Saturday I got to hang out with the Godwin’s for Heather’s birthday and had a great time out in Hermosa Beach. Sunday I spent sleeping and Monday was spent studying. I was pretty fatigued and sick during hell week and then Monday I started to get serious respiratory infection symptoms.
I went back to school Tuesday to begin the week taking out a human eyeball and studying the ins and outs of the eye and its orbit. Then it was onto the neck. Wednesday afternoon I couldn’t handle it anymore and had to go home and went to the doctor. 500mg of daily antibiotics would do the trick… unfortunately, I missed a patient encounter on Thursday in which we started doing physical aspects of the exam as well as the patient history and Friday I missed the most dramatic labs of all, I missed the disarticulation of the head (to put it professionally). Ania came into town this weekend and unfortunately most of it was spent sleeping and studying. Though we did try going to October Fest on Saturday with dad, it failed. After resting up, I came into lab today to find Lucy’s head not attached to her body AND her face in a cross section (cut in half). I know this sounds gross but you would be amazed at how much you can learn from this cross section. Seeing the inside of the head and neck from the middle out makes everything so much more clear. It is awesome to see how everything fits together and why certain disease processes work the way they do.
For example, I had a major respiratory infection these past couple weeks (a pneumonia if you will). The infection in my lungs was also in my throat and sinus’ and because of a small hole in your throat on either side (the pharyngotympanic tube) the infection spread to my middle ear. This is why I had a headache and was also very dizzy and hazy for a while. I saw this tube in my cadaver today and other connections from the brain to the face and it made me realize even more how delicate our bodies are and how easily we can get hurt. The brain is soooo close to our eyeballs and our nose vasculature, etc, etc. I am amazed not more of us have massive infections or virus outbreaks that debilitate us completely. Not to all of you out there, popping zits in the skin around your nose (think broadly in the nose region) can end up in a brain infection because the blood supplying your nose is going straight to your brain. SO, DON’T squeeze pimples.
Anyways, I know I have been saying over and over that the cadaver business has been bugging me and that I would never get used to it but…..after walking into lab today and laughing off the fact that my lab-mates had to cut a head in half with a saw…I brushed it off and moved right into studying and learning the pharynx and larynx. I know this is not normal but for me, it is becoming normal. I am going to be a doctor, this is normal. I haven’t fainted once and I know I will not ever faint in anatomy lab (THIS IS OUR LAST WEEEEEEEEEK!) But, I can guarantee you I will faint in the hospital at least once. Seeing a LIVING person bleeding and cut open will be very different then a dead one laying on a silver slab.
So, after a weekend of studying for my midterm and fighting with Ania since she came to visit, I am ready for a nap. After a very very long day (Head and Neck Midterm this morning, Lab after that, volleyball game at lunch, anatomy quiz, lecture, lecture, some more lecture (until 5). I am ready to go home and start practicing my auscultation, palpatory, purcussive, and reflex techniques and then go to BED. Look those up if you don’t know what they mean. Oh, and I am counting down the days until Thursday! We are learning phlebotomy on each other! For all you non-science people, that means I get to stick my classmates with needles to make them bleed their own blood ☺
The entire day was blocked off and we were bunched into groups of 20 people. My test was at 2:30 so I had a nice day to sleep in a bit and got to school for 11am to study and practice with my group. Right before the test we were given our partners and the next 40 minutes went like this: go into the room, I was the patient for my partner as he did his 20 min test, feedback for him, switch stations to a new grader and then my partner was my patient for the next 20 minutes. Of course with my luck I was being graded by the most good looking student doctor in the bunch and had to get my words out through the lump in my throat (red face blushing and all). The exam started and I talked my way through the whole thing. We are expected to know everything and be able to structurally examine a patient without any papers or notes in front of us. After we diagnose a somatic (muscle) dysfunction of a certain region, we are asked to demonstrate 2 osteopathic manipulative techniques (we don’t get to choose, they tell us). Sounds simple and to the point but it took a LOT of practice to become comfortable with all this. I am really enjoying this class and am very excited to be well practiced in OMM in the future. If you don’t know, learning OMM is what sets myself apart from M.D. physicians. So, as a D.O. physician I am learning everything an MD knows and MORE!!!!
After taking my test on Friday I had a 3 day weekend and started it off right by going out with all my classmates to celebrate surviving our hell week. On Saturday I got to hang out with the Godwin’s for Heather’s birthday and had a great time out in Hermosa Beach. Sunday I spent sleeping and Monday was spent studying. I was pretty fatigued and sick during hell week and then Monday I started to get serious respiratory infection symptoms.
I went back to school Tuesday to begin the week taking out a human eyeball and studying the ins and outs of the eye and its orbit. Then it was onto the neck. Wednesday afternoon I couldn’t handle it anymore and had to go home and went to the doctor. 500mg of daily antibiotics would do the trick… unfortunately, I missed a patient encounter on Thursday in which we started doing physical aspects of the exam as well as the patient history and Friday I missed the most dramatic labs of all, I missed the disarticulation of the head (to put it professionally). Ania came into town this weekend and unfortunately most of it was spent sleeping and studying. Though we did try going to October Fest on Saturday with dad, it failed. After resting up, I came into lab today to find Lucy’s head not attached to her body AND her face in a cross section (cut in half). I know this sounds gross but you would be amazed at how much you can learn from this cross section. Seeing the inside of the head and neck from the middle out makes everything so much more clear. It is awesome to see how everything fits together and why certain disease processes work the way they do.
For example, I had a major respiratory infection these past couple weeks (a pneumonia if you will). The infection in my lungs was also in my throat and sinus’ and because of a small hole in your throat on either side (the pharyngotympanic tube) the infection spread to my middle ear. This is why I had a headache and was also very dizzy and hazy for a while. I saw this tube in my cadaver today and other connections from the brain to the face and it made me realize even more how delicate our bodies are and how easily we can get hurt. The brain is soooo close to our eyeballs and our nose vasculature, etc, etc. I am amazed not more of us have massive infections or virus outbreaks that debilitate us completely. Not to all of you out there, popping zits in the skin around your nose (think broadly in the nose region) can end up in a brain infection because the blood supplying your nose is going straight to your brain. SO, DON’T squeeze pimples.
Anyways, I know I have been saying over and over that the cadaver business has been bugging me and that I would never get used to it but…..after walking into lab today and laughing off the fact that my lab-mates had to cut a head in half with a saw…I brushed it off and moved right into studying and learning the pharynx and larynx. I know this is not normal but for me, it is becoming normal. I am going to be a doctor, this is normal. I haven’t fainted once and I know I will not ever faint in anatomy lab (THIS IS OUR LAST WEEEEEEEEEK!) But, I can guarantee you I will faint in the hospital at least once. Seeing a LIVING person bleeding and cut open will be very different then a dead one laying on a silver slab.
So, after a weekend of studying for my midterm and fighting with Ania since she came to visit, I am ready for a nap. After a very very long day (Head and Neck Midterm this morning, Lab after that, volleyball game at lunch, anatomy quiz, lecture, lecture, some more lecture (until 5). I am ready to go home and start practicing my auscultation, palpatory, purcussive, and reflex techniques and then go to BED. Look those up if you don’t know what they mean. Oh, and I am counting down the days until Thursday! We are learning phlebotomy on each other! For all you non-science people, that means I get to stick my classmates with needles to make them bleed their own blood ☺
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
the head and neck is a very complicated place
im sittin cozy in my bed with blankets, books, my mac, tea and oh yeah, a human skull....
Friday went well, i got through the test without making a complete foul of myself and did just fine. ill write more about it later. now i am battling another bacteria or virus raging in my body as i try to learn some head and neck anatomy. p.s. as of today, Lucy's eyes are not in the same place as they were during her life....
Friday went well, i got through the test without making a complete foul of myself and did just fine. ill write more about it later. now i am battling another bacteria or virus raging in my body as i try to learn some head and neck anatomy. p.s. as of today, Lucy's eyes are not in the same place as they were during her life....
Thursday, October 8, 2009
work hard....work harder
Where to begin, where to begin....well lets start with this week SUCKED and the only good thing about it is, it is over tomorrow!
my weekend was spent diligently studying powerpoints, book, and dead bodies. Monday we had our LAST gross anatomy exam (I have gotten my grade since then and got an A, but will still be getting an average grade in the class). After fighting that battle, I had the practical portion in the afternoon and then met my classmates again at characters (the bar) for a beer and some laughs. one of the many laughs i got this day was from my classmates talking about "that body that smelled so bad during the practical." see, the way the test is run is 12 bodies are tagged on either side of the room and we rotate around the room at one minute intervals per question (total of 25 questions). so, we each get assigned one half of the classroom and two groups do the practical on two different groups of bodies in the room at a time. thus, half my class had to rotate to my body and this was the "disgusting smelling one" that everyone was talking about. i proudly told everyone it was my cadaver and got many looks and expressions of pity, well deserved pity i might add because she really does smell. also, i have realized i have probably taken off a couple months of my life inhaling all of her 'fumes'. but hey, i have learned a HELL of a lot of anatomy :) anyways, one beer turned into a few beers and then ping pong in the commons (i was responsible and waited to drive home).
theeeeen, the next day we started our Head and Neck anatomy course. my thought process about this week was that Monday was the new Friday and Tuesday was the new Monday...the weekend was cut out of our curriculums. we didnt have lab tuesday which was nice just lots of intro lectures and TONS of new words to learn. the head is a very VERY complicated place.
Wednesday was our first lab on the head region and it was pretty freakin awesome. The dissection was done by group A so i didnt have a lot of 'hands on' time but when i came in later in the morning to see what the group had done i found our cadaver with her skull cut and brain removed exposing the inferior (bottom) base of the skull. FREAKIN AWESOME. Today in lab I dissected from 8 to 10 and we starting exposing facial structures. i wont put too many details cause they sound morbid and not normal but lets just say i am learning a lot about the face and its underlying structures. once again, we had the problem with our cadaver being not embalmed fully so she still smells pretty funky. i really thought i would have had a harder time doing this dissection but i guess i have become desensitized because i was able to hold that scapel. im not a pro at it but i do have fun using it...but no, i wont be aiming for a surgical career believe me!
soooo, this week has also been pretty intimidating because along with all this stuff, we have our Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) midterm tomorrow. The whole day is blocked off as to allow blocks of students to take the test througout the day. the test is done in groups of 14 and we are paired with a person a couple minutes before we actually take the test. we are allowed 19 minutes in which an evaluater will watch me do a structural exam on a classmate, assess a certain region in their body and then use 2 OMM techniques we have learned in class. i will write more about it after its done and i know what its like!
oh, and last week we had a test in Essentials of Clinical Medicine where we were tested and graded on a patient encounter. again we did a patient history and had to write the S (subjective) of our SOAP note. I had ENS again today (its every Thursday afternoon) and we spent another day learning physical exams (heart rate, blood pressure, breath sounds, heart sounds, eye check, ear check, etc etc) we practice them on a patient next week!!!!! i will need LOTS of practice before i do this on a person other then my classmates!
so tomorrow i will be in school early practicing my OMM and then i have my exam at 2:30. after that, its our class organized party bus to Hollywood... yes you read that right. WORK HARD, PARTY HARDER!!! :)
my weekend was spent diligently studying powerpoints, book, and dead bodies. Monday we had our LAST gross anatomy exam (I have gotten my grade since then and got an A, but will still be getting an average grade in the class). After fighting that battle, I had the practical portion in the afternoon and then met my classmates again at characters (the bar) for a beer and some laughs. one of the many laughs i got this day was from my classmates talking about "that body that smelled so bad during the practical." see, the way the test is run is 12 bodies are tagged on either side of the room and we rotate around the room at one minute intervals per question (total of 25 questions). so, we each get assigned one half of the classroom and two groups do the practical on two different groups of bodies in the room at a time. thus, half my class had to rotate to my body and this was the "disgusting smelling one" that everyone was talking about. i proudly told everyone it was my cadaver and got many looks and expressions of pity, well deserved pity i might add because she really does smell. also, i have realized i have probably taken off a couple months of my life inhaling all of her 'fumes'. but hey, i have learned a HELL of a lot of anatomy :) anyways, one beer turned into a few beers and then ping pong in the commons (i was responsible and waited to drive home).
theeeeen, the next day we started our Head and Neck anatomy course. my thought process about this week was that Monday was the new Friday and Tuesday was the new Monday...the weekend was cut out of our curriculums. we didnt have lab tuesday which was nice just lots of intro lectures and TONS of new words to learn. the head is a very VERY complicated place.
Wednesday was our first lab on the head region and it was pretty freakin awesome. The dissection was done by group A so i didnt have a lot of 'hands on' time but when i came in later in the morning to see what the group had done i found our cadaver with her skull cut and brain removed exposing the inferior (bottom) base of the skull. FREAKIN AWESOME. Today in lab I dissected from 8 to 10 and we starting exposing facial structures. i wont put too many details cause they sound morbid and not normal but lets just say i am learning a lot about the face and its underlying structures. once again, we had the problem with our cadaver being not embalmed fully so she still smells pretty funky. i really thought i would have had a harder time doing this dissection but i guess i have become desensitized because i was able to hold that scapel. im not a pro at it but i do have fun using it...but no, i wont be aiming for a surgical career believe me!
soooo, this week has also been pretty intimidating because along with all this stuff, we have our Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) midterm tomorrow. The whole day is blocked off as to allow blocks of students to take the test througout the day. the test is done in groups of 14 and we are paired with a person a couple minutes before we actually take the test. we are allowed 19 minutes in which an evaluater will watch me do a structural exam on a classmate, assess a certain region in their body and then use 2 OMM techniques we have learned in class. i will write more about it after its done and i know what its like!
oh, and last week we had a test in Essentials of Clinical Medicine where we were tested and graded on a patient encounter. again we did a patient history and had to write the S (subjective) of our SOAP note. I had ENS again today (its every Thursday afternoon) and we spent another day learning physical exams (heart rate, blood pressure, breath sounds, heart sounds, eye check, ear check, etc etc) we practice them on a patient next week!!!!! i will need LOTS of practice before i do this on a person other then my classmates!
so tomorrow i will be in school early practicing my OMM and then i have my exam at 2:30. after that, its our class organized party bus to Hollywood... yes you read that right. WORK HARD, PARTY HARDER!!! :)
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Last day of Gross Anatomy Lab....
Our professor before lecture today....
"Good morning! And it is a good morning right? your done dissecting for gross anatomy....(series of claps) the next time you put your hand on a scalpel it will be to skin someone's face"
this is my life :)
"Good morning! And it is a good morning right? your done dissecting for gross anatomy....(series of claps) the next time you put your hand on a scalpel it will be to skin someone's face"
this is my life :)
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
last week of GROSS anatomy
I am excited to say that this is my last week of gross anatomy!! Considering our cadaver is not fully embalmed and she is deteriorating in front of us, it is safe to say i am really really ready to cover up her body for the last time! Sadly, I will still have head and neck anatomy for another 3 weeks but this will be much less smelly since we will only be working on, well..her head. For some reason most medical schools separate the anatomy course into two courses; Gross anatomy (everything below the shoulders) and head and neck (self explanatory). Thus, I have a total of 4 weeks left of formaldehyde.
We started dissecting the thigh late last week and already we have worked down to the knee. During lab this morning a professor came up to my dissecting group and announced that our neighbor had an artificial knee and that we should take a look. One table down I came to see my first knee replacement. A very very shinny metal knee that I could see my reflection in, it was pretty cool. The rest of the week will be dissecting the leg, ankle, and foot and then we have some review stuff friday. Then once again, an anatomy exam on Monday...technically its our gross anatomy final. yaaaaaaay! Also this week I have another patient encounter thursday and a whole lot of OMM to practice since we have our OMM midterm next friday. This will consistent of me doing a physical assessment and an OMM technique to a classmate. We are given our partners right before so we go in blind and are given 20ish minutes. Im still a lil fuzzy on the details and am pretty scared since I have not been focusing on this class at all....
to end this, i would like to say that i did not study at all this past saturday. i layed out, went swimming, and relaxed GUILT FREE. glorious
We started dissecting the thigh late last week and already we have worked down to the knee. During lab this morning a professor came up to my dissecting group and announced that our neighbor had an artificial knee and that we should take a look. One table down I came to see my first knee replacement. A very very shinny metal knee that I could see my reflection in, it was pretty cool. The rest of the week will be dissecting the leg, ankle, and foot and then we have some review stuff friday. Then once again, an anatomy exam on Monday...technically its our gross anatomy final. yaaaaaaay! Also this week I have another patient encounter thursday and a whole lot of OMM to practice since we have our OMM midterm next friday. This will consistent of me doing a physical assessment and an OMM technique to a classmate. We are given our partners right before so we go in blind and are given 20ish minutes. Im still a lil fuzzy on the details and am pretty scared since I have not been focusing on this class at all....
to end this, i would like to say that i did not study at all this past saturday. i layed out, went swimming, and relaxed GUILT FREE. glorious
Thursday, September 24, 2009
SOAP notes and Sunday Fundays
I never wrote about my last simulated patient encounter so I will go ahead and start with that. Thursday (September 10th) I had my 3rd 'clinic' encounter. Its pretty cool to say that considering we have only be in school for 6 or 7 weeks. We again worked on our patient history taking (the S of the SOAP note). S is for Subjective (what the patient tells us as we ask questions) is for Objective (the physical part of the encounter ie Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, etc) A is for assessment (what we think is wrong) and P is for Plan (what we are going to do for them). Soooo, as you can see we have a hell of a long way to go but its ok, one step at a time. We are given 20min with the patient to fill out a patient history (S part) and then after the encounter we were given 7 minutes to fix it/perfect it before we turned it in for grading. We were allowed to bring in a basic rubric for what questions to ask so it wasnt to difficult but being on the spot makes it a lot damn harder.
The funny part about simulated patient encounters is that the actors are pretty much the same. I personally dont get the same person every other week but we see them walking around the school and halls during the day so its starting to get harder to 'pretend' that they are real patients. It would be great if I saw one of them out and about in Claremont of Pomona one day.
The following Thursday (the 17th...last week) we began practicing the O (objective) of the SOAP note on each other. The hard part is we have to listen to a lecture and then arent given very much time to practice the technique before we are lectured about the next week. Needless to say I still dont know how to take blood pressure without fumbling the cuff or looking stupid. Also, im pretty sure i will never be able to use an ophthalmoscope properly (the thingy that the doctor looks into your eye with). its impossible...there i said it.
Back to anatomy...my favorite thing to write about because i could write details about it forever. But i think i will spare some considering we have been dissecting reporductive organs and the pelvic 'area' and i know that my family reads this....and thats just weird. yes, i am going to be a doctor and should be more mature about it but no, thats ok. use your imaginations on these dissections people!
Saturday was awesome as i attended a Healthcare conference hosted by the California Medical Association (a division of the American Medical Association). I listened to a couple speakers discuss the methods of healthcare reform and these are some details i wrote down that hopefully will interest you:
Sunday was a library day.....my new definition for SUNDAY FUNDAY!
Ill write about this week later because I have already procrastinated enough for the evening. Back to the books..i swear....well maybe after checking my facebook another 5 times and chatting on gchat. ;)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
SOAP notes and Sunday Fundays!!
I never wrote about my last simulated patient encounter so I will go ahead and start with that. Thursday (September 10th) I had my 3rd 'clinic' encounter. Its pretty cool to say that considering we have only be in school for 6 or 7 weeks. We again worked on our patient history taking (the S of the SOAP note). S is for Subjective (what the patient tells us as we ask questions) O is for Objective (the physical part of the encounter ie Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, etc) A is for assessment (what we think is wrong) and P is for Plan (what we are going to do for them). Soooo, as you can see we have a hell of a long way to go but its ok, one step at a time. We are given 20min with the patient to fill out a patient history (S part) and then after the encounter we were given 7 minutes to fix it/perfect it before we turned it in for grading. We were allowed to bring in a basic rubric for what questions to ask so it wasnt to difficult but being on the spot makes it a lot damn harder.
The funny part about simulated patient encounters is that the actors are pretty much the same every week for every different college (physician assistants, podiatrists etc). I personally dont get the same person every other week but we see them walking around the school halls during the day so its starting to get harder to 'pretend' that they are real patients. It would be great if I saw one of them out and about in Claremont or Pomona one day. I would def buy him or her a beer so they would like me :)
The following Thursday (the 17th...last week) we began practicing the O (objective) of the SOAP note on each other. The hard part is we have to listen to a lecture and then arent given very much time to practice the technique before we are lectured about the next week. Needless to say I still dont know how to take blood pressure without fumbling the cuff or looking stupid. Also, im pretty sure i will never be able to use an ophthalmoscope properly (the thingy that the doctor looks into your eye with). its impossible...there i said it.
Back to anatomy...my favorite thing to write about because i could write details about it forever. But i think i will spare some considering we have been dissecting reproductive organs and the pelvic 'area' and i know that my family reads this....and thats just weird. yes, i am going to be a doctor and should be more mature about it but no, thats ok. use your imaginations on these dissections people!
Saturday was awesome as i attended a Healthcare conference at USC School of Medicine hosted by the California Medical Association (a division of the American Medical Association). I listened to a couple speakers discuss the methods of healthcare reform and these are some details i wrote down that hopefully will interest you:
- 1/5 of california residents use MediCal
- a doctor is given $18-$24 reimbursement for an office visit by a MediCal patient
- thus, only 50% of doctors in California will see a MediCal patient
- there are only 5 HMOs that control 90-95% of all the insured people in california
- The increase in ER patients is by insured people (with insifficient insurance) NOT by the uninsured
- There are NO physicians in the California legislature but there is a ex-used car salesman and an actor
- if a federal health reform bill does not get passed by this January or February, it is estimated that it will be another 10 to 15 years before any other health reform bill will be sought after
I obviously learned much more but these are some interesting details. If you are interested in the progress of the federal government, please visit www.hsreform.org for a DAILY updated website.
Moving on...
Sunday was a library day.....my new definition for SUNDAY FUNDAY!
Monday was a easier day as we didnt have much scheduled so of course, i used my time to study. i have been spending more and more of my time at school, starbucks, and random libraries. i find that studying at home is the least productive way to study as i usually find myself cleaning, organizing (i refolded all my clothes a couple nights ago) or just watching the cat and dog piss each other off. my thought process at home is usually "ok, back to the books. I have already procrastinated enough for the evening. Back to the books..i swear....well maybe after checking my facebook another 5 times and chatting on gchat." :)
i pretty much only see dad in the morning (while he makes my lunch...thanks dad) or in the evening during a quick dinner. my kitten continues to bite me. i see him lounging with dad more often. its a sign that he is slowly picking favorites and i think i am on his shit list. just the other day i swear i saw him roll his eyes at me as i walked by him without feeding him. hahaha
im beginning to despise my 25 minute commute to school and hate that i never get to hang out with my classmates during the week. i will most likely be moving soon closer to pomona. dont know where and dont know when but i have a couple options that (fingers crossed) work out.
ok, im off to bed. i had a lovely evening once again eating dinner at Alissa's (love you girl!) and now i need to get to sleep so i can wake up early tomorrow. to gym or not to gym in the morning, that is the question....
The funny part about simulated patient encounters is that the actors are pretty much the same every week for every different college (physician assistants, podiatrists etc). I personally dont get the same person every other week but we see them walking around the school halls during the day so its starting to get harder to 'pretend' that they are real patients. It would be great if I saw one of them out and about in Claremont or Pomona one day. I would def buy him or her a beer so they would like me :)
The following Thursday (the 17th...last week) we began practicing the O (objective) of the SOAP note on each other. The hard part is we have to listen to a lecture and then arent given very much time to practice the technique before we are lectured about the next week. Needless to say I still dont know how to take blood pressure without fumbling the cuff or looking stupid. Also, im pretty sure i will never be able to use an ophthalmoscope properly (the thingy that the doctor looks into your eye with). its impossible...there i said it.
Back to anatomy...my favorite thing to write about because i could write details about it forever. But i think i will spare some considering we have been dissecting reproductive organs and the pelvic 'area' and i know that my family reads this....and thats just weird. yes, i am going to be a doctor and should be more mature about it but no, thats ok. use your imaginations on these dissections people!
Saturday was awesome as i attended a Healthcare conference at USC School of Medicine hosted by the California Medical Association (a division of the American Medical Association). I listened to a couple speakers discuss the methods of healthcare reform and these are some details i wrote down that hopefully will interest you:
- 1/5 of california residents use MediCal
- a doctor is given $18-$24 reimbursement for an office visit by a MediCal patient
- thus, only 50% of doctors in California will see a MediCal patient
- there are only 5 HMOs that control 90-95% of all the insured people in california
- The increase in ER patients is by insured people (with insifficient insurance) NOT by the uninsured
- There are NO physicians in the California legislature but there is a ex-used car salesman and an actor
- if a federal health reform bill does not get passed by this January or February, it is estimated that it will be another 10 to 15 years before any other health reform bill will be sought after
I obviously learned much more but these are some interesting details. If you are interested in the progress of the federal government, please visit www.hsreform.org for a DAILY updated website.
Moving on...
Sunday was a library day.....my new definition for SUNDAY FUNDAY!
Monday was a easier day as we didnt have much scheduled so of course, i used my time to study. i have been spending more and more of my time at school, starbucks, and random libraries. i find that studying at home is the least productive way to study as i usually find myself cleaning, organizing (i refolded all my clothes a couple nights ago) or just watching the cat and dog piss each other off. my thought process at home is usually "ok, back to the books. I have already procrastinated enough for the evening. Back to the books..i swear....well maybe after checking my facebook another 5 times and chatting on gchat." :)
i pretty much only see dad in the morning (while he makes my lunch...thanks dad) or in the evening during a quick dinner. my kitten continues to bite me. i see him lounging with dad more often. its a sign that he is slowly picking favorites and i think i am on his shit list. just the other day i swear i saw him roll his eyes at me as i walked by him without feeding him. hahaha
im beginning to despise my 25 minute commute to school and hate that i never get to hang out with my classmates during the week. i will most likely be moving soon closer to pomona. dont know where and dont know when but i have a couple options that (fingers crossed) work out.
ok, im off to bed. i had a lovely evening once again eating dinner at Alissa's (love you girl!) and now i need to get to sleep so i can wake up early tomorrow. to gym or not to gym in the morning, that is the question....
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tomorrow should be fun...
It has been very difficult to get back into the swing of things after mondays test. i swear it felt like a friday since i was studying all weekend and on campus on sunday!
on a good note, we got to take out and bag up all the internal organs in Lucy (we have started calling her Lucy since she has Ricki tattooed on her butt). Lucy smells better (better...but still not good). Tomorrow we get to saw off her leg. no seriously, we are dissecting one leg and dissecting through the pelvis of the other. loose your appetite yet?
on a good note, we got to take out and bag up all the internal organs in Lucy (we have started calling her Lucy since she has Ricki tattooed on her butt). Lucy smells better (better...but still not good). Tomorrow we get to saw off her leg. no seriously, we are dissecting one leg and dissecting through the pelvis of the other. loose your appetite yet?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Vicks vapor rub does not work
SO my last post was on Wednesday and a lot has happened since then. a lot of digging through cadaver fat and guts (this post is going to be hard on the stomach so i'll warn you upfront)....
Wednesday during lab we had the unique opportunity to split apart the upper abdomen by cutting a long line down the stomach and two horizontal cuts across. then we dug around to find the different muscles layers. After going through tons of fat (which is NOT like cutting through a piece of butter) we reached the inner organs. the GUTS. the best part about it is that we have the worst smelling person in the entire lab. no joking, one of our professors walked by and make the comment that our body looks pretty 'red and fresh' and that she 'most not be embalmed properly.' Take a second to visualize this, yes i know...GROSSSSSSS (it is Gross Anatomy, right?! haha) So here we are, 4 students around a very very smelly and pink body. Well, it actually ended up being 2..me and my dissecting partner Brendon. The other two couldnt stomach it. that made me feel like such a champ HAH. but i did have to walk out of the lab twice to stop myself from projective vommitting after getting several strong whiffs of poop and formaldehyde (we cut into the large intestine to look at structures....i wont describe this, it was pretty bad). Later in the week one of my lab partners brought in Vicks vapor rub to put underneath our nose to smell something over then body juices. i didnt think it worked very well but some other people liked it.
So after lab needless to say i was not hungry, but i ended up getting a sandwich for lunch and was able to eat just fine. I guess after going through all that and being able to eat means I am a good medical student :)
Thursday I got to sleep in a bit (8am...sweet!!) and then headed to school to study before class. In the afternoon I had my 3rd simulated patient encounter. A man around the age of 45. He was nice. It was nothing difficult, we just had to take a patient history and do a 'review of systems.' Then, i went to the lab to end my afternoon starring at dead bodies. Again, another regular Thursday afternoon.
Friday was an extremely overwhelming day. We had lab (digging through more fat to find small arteries that took forever to find) and then 3 lectures. Two new material powerpoints and a third 'review.' I left lecture in a nice panic and immediately drove home to get myself out of the school environment. I had a LOT to learn and review as our second exam was the upcoming Monday (yesterday!!)
Saturday and Sunday were spent responsively with my face in books and starring at powerpoint slides. I did take some time out to get lunch with dad on saturday and play some tennis. Boy was it nice to smash the hell out of those tennis balls and get out my stress and frustration!!
Then yesterday come around faster then i wanted it to! The exam was another combination of written clinical questions, image identifications, and then a lab practical in the afternoon. I thought the exam was pretty tough and the lab practical to be fair. Afterward, my classmates and I again celebrated by going to Characters Bar by school and then we went to a mexican restaurant for margaritas and dancing. It was a GREAT night...fun people, strong shots, and lots of dancing. Perfect way to end that pretty terrible monday.
Now it is back to the books. No rest for us, lab started up again at 9am today and lecture at 1. We also had OMM in the afternoon and learned some more manipulative techniques. Its a pretty relaxing class I must say.
Wednesday during lab we had the unique opportunity to split apart the upper abdomen by cutting a long line down the stomach and two horizontal cuts across. then we dug around to find the different muscles layers. After going through tons of fat (which is NOT like cutting through a piece of butter) we reached the inner organs. the GUTS. the best part about it is that we have the worst smelling person in the entire lab. no joking, one of our professors walked by and make the comment that our body looks pretty 'red and fresh' and that she 'most not be embalmed properly.' Take a second to visualize this, yes i know...GROSSSSSSS (it is Gross Anatomy, right?! haha) So here we are, 4 students around a very very smelly and pink body. Well, it actually ended up being 2..me and my dissecting partner Brendon. The other two couldnt stomach it. that made me feel like such a champ HAH. but i did have to walk out of the lab twice to stop myself from projective vommitting after getting several strong whiffs of poop and formaldehyde (we cut into the large intestine to look at structures....i wont describe this, it was pretty bad). Later in the week one of my lab partners brought in Vicks vapor rub to put underneath our nose to smell something over then body juices. i didnt think it worked very well but some other people liked it.
So after lab needless to say i was not hungry, but i ended up getting a sandwich for lunch and was able to eat just fine. I guess after going through all that and being able to eat means I am a good medical student :)
Thursday I got to sleep in a bit (8am...sweet!!) and then headed to school to study before class. In the afternoon I had my 3rd simulated patient encounter. A man around the age of 45. He was nice. It was nothing difficult, we just had to take a patient history and do a 'review of systems.' Then, i went to the lab to end my afternoon starring at dead bodies. Again, another regular Thursday afternoon.
Friday was an extremely overwhelming day. We had lab (digging through more fat to find small arteries that took forever to find) and then 3 lectures. Two new material powerpoints and a third 'review.' I left lecture in a nice panic and immediately drove home to get myself out of the school environment. I had a LOT to learn and review as our second exam was the upcoming Monday (yesterday!!)
Saturday and Sunday were spent responsively with my face in books and starring at powerpoint slides. I did take some time out to get lunch with dad on saturday and play some tennis. Boy was it nice to smash the hell out of those tennis balls and get out my stress and frustration!!
Then yesterday come around faster then i wanted it to! The exam was another combination of written clinical questions, image identifications, and then a lab practical in the afternoon. I thought the exam was pretty tough and the lab practical to be fair. Afterward, my classmates and I again celebrated by going to Characters Bar by school and then we went to a mexican restaurant for margaritas and dancing. It was a GREAT night...fun people, strong shots, and lots of dancing. Perfect way to end that pretty terrible monday.
Now it is back to the books. No rest for us, lab started up again at 9am today and lecture at 1. We also had OMM in the afternoon and learned some more manipulative techniques. Its a pretty relaxing class I must say.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Not a great day...
today was the most disgusting day of dissections so far. i walked out of the lab twice and was pretty sure i was gonna pass out/ vomit but i didnt. i put on a brave face. i would love to write about the details but will have to save it for another night as i have a ridiculous amount of material to cram into my already full brain. sweeeeeeet
Monday, September 7, 2009
Week 4: Holding a human heart, no big deal
Wednesday was my birthday and I was blessed with no anatomy lab. Instead, we were in the lecture hall for most of the day. What I thought would be a nice break from the lab turned into a very dull day that made me actually miss dissecting (well not so much the dissecting as more the finding and reviewing actual anatomy versus pictures on powerpoints). We finished up around 4 and some friends took me out to get Thai food. This was my first time eating Thia (everyone was shocked to hear this as I am apparently the last remaining person on earth to have eaten this type of cuisine) and after a great meal we all branched off to study. I went home and hung out with dad for a while and got about an hour of studying in before I feel asleep around 10:30. I tried to make up for this by waking up very early the next day and getting to school to review in the morning.
Thursday we dissected out the heart in the morning and in the afternoon we had ECM. This week we brought in our materials and got to ‘learn’ how to use them. I am pretty competent at taking blood pressures but everything else I am going to need a LOT of practice on. This coming week we have another patient encounter. We are perfecting the art of taking a comprehensive patient history and this time will be timed both seeing the patient and then after as we fill out their ‘chart.’
Looking back at my posts, I realized I haven’t really mentioned our Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) class yet. We have it every Tuesday from 1 to 5 and this is where we get to learn the special techniques osteopathic doctors use. We are still learning the basics of what is ‘normal’ and how we can determine it, so we haven’t really gotten into the cool stuff yet.
Friday was a shorter day which I filled by going to the anatomy lab and reviewing everything we had learned that week. I spent the night with my second family and started off a relaxing labor day weekend J
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Well, I passed!
After an agonizing afternoon of thinking I failed because I read my score as a percent rather then the total number of points I gained....i realized my mistake at about 2am that next morning while i was in a 'must get an A on my next exam' study session. I put myself through hell for nothing, but hey...now i know what it feels like to fail an exam, even though I actually did just fine. Dont get be wrong, I probably should/could have done waaay better but passing and getting minimally above the average is good for me for right now :) This whole med school thing is pretty damn tough i SWEAR! annnnd, that grade was only for the written portion, our lab practical hasnt been graded yet (insert nervous laughter here)
So monday group A dissected until 11am and then we only had one lecture from 1 to 2 so i found it to be the perfect 'at home study day' :) it was nice to spend time with alissa and kristin and give kk a big hug before she took of to switzerland to play volleyball like the champ she is. today (Tuesday), i came in to lab and took out our cadaver's lungs...just another tuesday in my life.
oh, did i mention that she has fake acrylic nails? Yeah, and they are painted bright pink. How the hell am I supposed to put it out of my mind that she is a actual person when I can see her nails like that? Also, while observing/learning about the lungs and thoracic cavity, we discovered many tumors all over her. They are calcified tumors which means they were actually boney tissue growing on her diaphragm and thoracic wall. Also, her lungs were so congested from heart failure...this poor lady suffered so much before she passed, its hard to learn about the pathology without thinking about that side of the science.
On a lighter note, my birthday is tomorrow. number 24 I think…
p.s. i hate my kitten at the moment because he is not my friend anymore and is a pretty wild beast, im thinking of letting him explore the great outdoors....just to see if he can come back alive or at least in one piece. just kidding.....not really....
So monday group A dissected until 11am and then we only had one lecture from 1 to 2 so i found it to be the perfect 'at home study day' :) it was nice to spend time with alissa and kristin and give kk a big hug before she took of to switzerland to play volleyball like the champ she is. today (Tuesday), i came in to lab and took out our cadaver's lungs...just another tuesday in my life.
oh, did i mention that she has fake acrylic nails? Yeah, and they are painted bright pink. How the hell am I supposed to put it out of my mind that she is a actual person when I can see her nails like that? Also, while observing/learning about the lungs and thoracic cavity, we discovered many tumors all over her. They are calcified tumors which means they were actually boney tissue growing on her diaphragm and thoracic wall. Also, her lungs were so congested from heart failure...this poor lady suffered so much before she passed, its hard to learn about the pathology without thinking about that side of the science.
On a lighter note, my birthday is tomorrow. number 24 I think…
p.s. i hate my kitten at the moment because he is not my friend anymore and is a pretty wild beast, im thinking of letting him explore the great outdoors....just to see if he can come back alive or at least in one piece. just kidding.....not really....
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Class of 2013- 1, Gross Anatomy- 0 (debatable i guess...)
ITS OVER!!! The first exam of my medical school career is over :) And yes, it was very hard but i got through it! The best part was the the last couple days leading up to the exam we received a ridiculous amount of new material to learn (that was going to be on the exam) and it was the hardest information to learn yet. There are 19 muscles in the forearm ALONE, and don't get me starting on your hand...lets just say the human body is incredible but god does it suck having to memorize all of it!
The test was in two parts, Friday morning we all had assigned seats in the lecutre hall and had a written exam that was 50 questions. Also, during the exam there was a powerpoint being flashed (15 slides, 2 min per slide) and we had to identify landmarks on bones and some MRIs, CT scans and X rays. We were given from 9:30 to 12 to take it. Then in the afternoon the class was split into groups of 25 people and all of us had a certain time to take our lab practical. This was intense! Me and 24 other people went at 1:30 and our cadevers had been 'pinned' with structures to identify. We were given 1 minute per question with a timer and very strict order to walk around the room. To clarify, it wasnt just our own cadevers it was everyones so memorizing one is not efficient, plus, everyone has anamolies (2 nerves of something instead of one or no palmaris longus muscle, etc).
I know I mentioned my cadaver before but I have learned more details about her since the beginning. She died at 60, like i said earlier, from kidney cancer and she has a tattoo of someone's name on her butt (sorry for the technical term). Also, she has a pacemaker!! I am very excited because this week we are studying the heart so i am excited to see how the pacemaker was put in and where it is going. Also, last week we had to dissect the breasts and another groups cadaver had breast implants, that was cool too!
Back to the exam, I was done at 2 and from there my classmates and I had planned to all meet at Characters bar which is about 25 feet from the anatomy lab right off campus. It was a great afternoon even though many of us were drinking away our worries about the test!
Yesterday was another day of celebration at a friends house. It was a 'black tie event' and everyone was dressed up and looking classy. It was a LOT of fun. Now im just gonna sit because tomorrow is another day of anatomy which means a lot of info coming at me!
Oh, and another thing this week was another patient encounter day! I leanred how to take a patient history and practiced on one of our actors. I was given 20 minutes and had to fill out a paper as we spoke. Then, we had 10 minutes to get feedback from the actor. Mine told me I did excellent and that I was going to be a great doctor :) It was a good day!
The test was in two parts, Friday morning we all had assigned seats in the lecutre hall and had a written exam that was 50 questions. Also, during the exam there was a powerpoint being flashed (15 slides, 2 min per slide) and we had to identify landmarks on bones and some MRIs, CT scans and X rays. We were given from 9:30 to 12 to take it. Then in the afternoon the class was split into groups of 25 people and all of us had a certain time to take our lab practical. This was intense! Me and 24 other people went at 1:30 and our cadevers had been 'pinned' with structures to identify. We were given 1 minute per question with a timer and very strict order to walk around the room. To clarify, it wasnt just our own cadevers it was everyones so memorizing one is not efficient, plus, everyone has anamolies (2 nerves of something instead of one or no palmaris longus muscle, etc).
I know I mentioned my cadaver before but I have learned more details about her since the beginning. She died at 60, like i said earlier, from kidney cancer and she has a tattoo of someone's name on her butt (sorry for the technical term). Also, she has a pacemaker!! I am very excited because this week we are studying the heart so i am excited to see how the pacemaker was put in and where it is going. Also, last week we had to dissect the breasts and another groups cadaver had breast implants, that was cool too!
Back to the exam, I was done at 2 and from there my classmates and I had planned to all meet at Characters bar which is about 25 feet from the anatomy lab right off campus. It was a great afternoon even though many of us were drinking away our worries about the test!
Yesterday was another day of celebration at a friends house. It was a 'black tie event' and everyone was dressed up and looking classy. It was a LOT of fun. Now im just gonna sit because tomorrow is another day of anatomy which means a lot of info coming at me!
Oh, and another thing this week was another patient encounter day! I leanred how to take a patient history and practiced on one of our actors. I was given 20 minutes and had to fill out a paper as we spoke. Then, we had 10 minutes to get feedback from the actor. Mine told me I did excellent and that I was going to be a great doctor :) It was a good day!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
We're starting to crack...
A facebook status update from a classmate...
"...is starting to feel like hannibal lecter...if i have to skin my body anymore im gonna start telling people to put the lotion in the basket"
-ABTuesday, August 25, 2009
Anatomy Professor Advice for the first exam...
And this leads to three other pieces of advice:
1. Take the questions as simple and direct. I am not trying to trick you. I do not need to. This stuff is hard enough without making life more difficult by making it tricky.
2. Once you answer it as a simple question, resist the temptation to change answers unless you have a sudden brainstorm and realized your answer was stupid. If your thinking is "if you think about it this way, maybe this other answer could be correct..." than you are changing a right answer to a wrong one.
3. Be awake for the exam. Get a good night's sleep, and take it easy the day of the exam. If you are half asleep while taking this exam, then you're going to thwart all of your hard work.
1. Take the questions as simple and direct. I am not trying to trick you. I do not need to. This stuff is hard enough without making life more difficult by making it tricky.
2. Once you answer it as a simple question, resist the temptation to change answers unless you have a sudden brainstorm and realized your answer was stupid. If your thinking is "if you think about it this way, maybe this other answer could be correct..." than you are changing a right answer to a wrong one.
3. Be awake for the exam. Get a good night's sleep, and take it easy the day of the exam. If you are half asleep while taking this exam, then you're going to thwart all of your hard work.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
So, what brought you into the clinic today?...
Last Thursday was the longest day of school yet. I got to the anatomy lab at 8 to find out that the schedule was changed and the day started at 9. So, I went right to work and starting dissecting to redeem myself for being late earlier in the week. Unfortunately, the beginning of this dissection required that I take a saw and literally take out her (we have not named her) clavical bone. So, with help from a friend, I did it…making sure to not cut anything else important that we had worked on previously. Going through bone is a lot tougher then I thought, makes me appreciate how much effort it takes to break one during sports, or just falling (like I have done several times in the past). I felt particularly sick after lab this day, most likely because I was inhaling the fumes for about 3 hours, no bueno. I changed into my ‘professional’ clothes after lab then had lecture, ate lunch, and then went to the ‘clinic’ to have my first simulated patient encounters. I then had the most mentally draining afternoon and I wasn’t even studying anatomy, it was from all the effort it took to speak with people…
Our course is called Essentials of Clinical Medicine (ECM) and it is every Thursday afternoon. This is when we learn clinical skills like taking patient histories and how to use our equipment. This is the course I will learn how to draw blood in. Anyways, this particular Thursday was as I said, our first simulated patient encounters. Basically, actors that are paid to pretend like the are patients in a VERY wide range of circumstances. And boy are they good!!! They broke us into groups of 6 and we sat in a clinic room. The ‘patients’ would rotate around each clinic room and each time a new patient came, one of the 6 of us would act as though we were they’re doctors seeing them for the first time. We were to practice building rapport with them. Some people came in pretending to be shy, nervous, mad they had to wait so long, and one old lady was just crying the whole time. It was intense!! The two patients I talked with were a young girl that was shy and an older lady that was lonely and basically just came in to have social contact with someone. The encounter lasted 5 minutes and then the actors were given 3 minutes after to give us feedback on how we did. The best part about it is during the 5 min you are allowed to take a ‘time out’ to ask the actor or your peers for help on what to do, or say next if you are stuck. And yes, I did take a time out for my first one because I had no idea what I was doing. The second lady was very easy to talk to and I think I improved a lot by that one.
Anywho, that was Thursday and I am glad it is over. Friday was a shorter day and after class a couple of us went to play pool and relax for a bit (they are plenty of bars right by school, very convenient!). Then I went home and studied for a while. This weekend was fun, I finally got to see old friends and also did a lot of studying on Saturday so it was productive. Today (Sunday) I went to lab in the morning and then slept all afternoon. GLORIOUS. OK, back to the grinding board. Test in 5 days!!!!
Our course is called Essentials of Clinical Medicine (ECM) and it is every Thursday afternoon. This is when we learn clinical skills like taking patient histories and how to use our equipment. This is the course I will learn how to draw blood in. Anyways, this particular Thursday was as I said, our first simulated patient encounters. Basically, actors that are paid to pretend like the are patients in a VERY wide range of circumstances. And boy are they good!!! They broke us into groups of 6 and we sat in a clinic room. The ‘patients’ would rotate around each clinic room and each time a new patient came, one of the 6 of us would act as though we were they’re doctors seeing them for the first time. We were to practice building rapport with them. Some people came in pretending to be shy, nervous, mad they had to wait so long, and one old lady was just crying the whole time. It was intense!! The two patients I talked with were a young girl that was shy and an older lady that was lonely and basically just came in to have social contact with someone. The encounter lasted 5 minutes and then the actors were given 3 minutes after to give us feedback on how we did. The best part about it is during the 5 min you are allowed to take a ‘time out’ to ask the actor or your peers for help on what to do, or say next if you are stuck. And yes, I did take a time out for my first one because I had no idea what I was doing. The second lady was very easy to talk to and I think I improved a lot by that one.
Anywho, that was Thursday and I am glad it is over. Friday was a shorter day and after class a couple of us went to play pool and relax for a bit (they are plenty of bars right by school, very convenient!). Then I went home and studied for a while. This weekend was fun, I finally got to see old friends and also did a lot of studying on Saturday so it was productive. Today (Sunday) I went to lab in the morning and then slept all afternoon. GLORIOUS. OK, back to the grinding board. Test in 5 days!!!!
First full week of anatomy down, lots more to go
Written on Wednesday August 19, 2009 somewhere between dinner and bed time…
I am officially overwhelmed. Getting a passing grade in medical school is a LOT different then getting A’s in undergrad. I have taken anatomy before but that course was apparently just a small 1/34590 tip of the iceberg compared to the material I am learning now. We have lab every morning and lecture in the afternoons and I am sure I smell all day. I came home today and the cat was smelling me for a while, he then ran away. This could be because he really doesn’t like me (im never home) or I smelled like preservatives. Either way it was sad. I need to slow down and just take one lecture at a time, one day at a time, one hour of studying at a time. Our first exam is a week from Friday (Aug 28th) so it looks like this weekend is going to be a fun filled time spent in the lab with our deceased friends and books. SWEEEEET. Don’t get me wrong, im not complaining. Just wishing I could absorb this information faster….
So far in lab this week we have chiseled out the vertebrae of our cadaver, revealed the spinal chord, skinned the arms, revealed A LOT of arteries, veins and nerves, and given a mastectomy (removed the breasts) to expose the anterior muscles. Tomorrow I will be using a saw to cut out the clavicle to expose the vasculature underneath. To many details?…..sorry ☺ All have been very cool, though they may sound gruesome, it is the absolute best way to learn anatomy. I learn soooo much more in lab then I do sitting in front of powerpoints and lecture notes.
Our first simulated patient encounters for Essentials of Clinical Medicine are tomorrow afternoon. We are doing patient ‘drills’ in groups of 6. Each group sees 12 patients and each person gets to ‘meet’ with 2 people in a span of 2 hours. We obviously are incompetent in the medical aspect and couldn’t diagnose a headache from a seizure, but they are starting us out early to begin working on our communication. My fear is that they will smell all of us walking into the room and immediately vomit….hence no communication. Then what? At least I get to wear my white coat and stethoscope around my neck (even though Im not really sure how to use it effectively)!
To note, in lecture yesterday my anatomy professor said this during lecture:
rub your hands together, what do you feel? heat or friction. well they put bursa's into joints like the glenohumoral joint to reduce this friction.
Made me wonder who is this ‘they’ he refers to? Haha
I am officially overwhelmed. Getting a passing grade in medical school is a LOT different then getting A’s in undergrad. I have taken anatomy before but that course was apparently just a small 1/34590 tip of the iceberg compared to the material I am learning now. We have lab every morning and lecture in the afternoons and I am sure I smell all day. I came home today and the cat was smelling me for a while, he then ran away. This could be because he really doesn’t like me (im never home) or I smelled like preservatives. Either way it was sad. I need to slow down and just take one lecture at a time, one day at a time, one hour of studying at a time. Our first exam is a week from Friday (Aug 28th) so it looks like this weekend is going to be a fun filled time spent in the lab with our deceased friends and books. SWEEEEET. Don’t get me wrong, im not complaining. Just wishing I could absorb this information faster….
So far in lab this week we have chiseled out the vertebrae of our cadaver, revealed the spinal chord, skinned the arms, revealed A LOT of arteries, veins and nerves, and given a mastectomy (removed the breasts) to expose the anterior muscles. Tomorrow I will be using a saw to cut out the clavicle to expose the vasculature underneath. To many details?…..sorry ☺ All have been very cool, though they may sound gruesome, it is the absolute best way to learn anatomy. I learn soooo much more in lab then I do sitting in front of powerpoints and lecture notes.
Our first simulated patient encounters for Essentials of Clinical Medicine are tomorrow afternoon. We are doing patient ‘drills’ in groups of 6. Each group sees 12 patients and each person gets to ‘meet’ with 2 people in a span of 2 hours. We obviously are incompetent in the medical aspect and couldn’t diagnose a headache from a seizure, but they are starting us out early to begin working on our communication. My fear is that they will smell all of us walking into the room and immediately vomit….hence no communication. Then what? At least I get to wear my white coat and stethoscope around my neck (even though Im not really sure how to use it effectively)!
To note, in lecture yesterday my anatomy professor said this during lecture:
rub your hands together, what do you feel? heat or friction. well they put bursa's into joints like the glenohumoral joint to reduce this friction.
Made me wonder who is this ‘they’ he refers to? Haha
Saturday, August 15, 2009
FIRST DISSECTION!!
(I wrote this on Thursday August 13th)
So today was my first day dissecting our cadaver and it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be Let me start off by saying i have found out that i love to cut! Anyways, Group A had already dissected the superficial (outtermost) muscles of the back and we dissected the deeper muscles around the spine. I was totally fine until about 9:30 (we started at 8) when we started dissecting the base of the neck and skull. We had to cut the skull and pull back the skin (with hair on it and all) and at that point i decided to step out and get some air. It was the sight and smell that made me get hot all of a sudden, in the beginning i forced myself to not think about the person but seeing her hair made it very very real. Yesterday in lecture our professor told us that whenever we need to, we should go outside for about 5 minutes until we feel better and then stay outside another 5 after that. With formaldehyde its a pretty intense smell so leaning over the body for 3 hours at a time is not exactly comfortable, not to mention very bad for us. For example, i cant wear contacts because the formaldehyde will start to stick to them and thats no bueno.
On a good note, i have decided to run for vice president of our class and will know on Aug 20th if i won the position or not. There are 4 or 5 other people running so we'll see what happens!
Tonight is gonna be a fun night of going to dinner with friends and studying. we will see how much studying actually gets done :)
i dissection down, a LOT more smelly ones to go!!!
:)
So today was my first day dissecting our cadaver and it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be Let me start off by saying i have found out that i love to cut! Anyways, Group A had already dissected the superficial (outtermost) muscles of the back and we dissected the deeper muscles around the spine. I was totally fine until about 9:30 (we started at 8) when we started dissecting the base of the neck and skull. We had to cut the skull and pull back the skin (with hair on it and all) and at that point i decided to step out and get some air. It was the sight and smell that made me get hot all of a sudden, in the beginning i forced myself to not think about the person but seeing her hair made it very very real. Yesterday in lecture our professor told us that whenever we need to, we should go outside for about 5 minutes until we feel better and then stay outside another 5 after that. With formaldehyde its a pretty intense smell so leaning over the body for 3 hours at a time is not exactly comfortable, not to mention very bad for us. For example, i cant wear contacts because the formaldehyde will start to stick to them and thats no bueno.
On a good note, i have decided to run for vice president of our class and will know on Aug 20th if i won the position or not. There are 4 or 5 other people running so we'll see what happens!
Tonight is gonna be a fun night of going to dinner with friends and studying. we will see how much studying actually gets done :)
i dissection down, a LOT more smelly ones to go!!!
:)
Thursday, August 13, 2009
FIRST DISSECTION!!
(I wrote this on Thursday August 13th)
So today was my first day dissecting our cadaver and it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be! Group A had already dissected the superficial (outtermost) muscles and we dissected the deeper muscles around the spine. I was totally fine until about 9:30 (we started at 8) when we started dissecting the base of the neck and skull. We had to cut the skull and pull back the skin (with hair on it and all) and at that point i decided to step out and get some air. It was the sight and smell that made me get hot all of a sudden, in the beginning i forced myself to not think about the person but seeing her hair made it very very real. Yesterday in lecture our professor told us that whenever we need to, we should go outside for about 5 minutes until we feel better and then stay outside another 5 after that. With formaldehyde its a pretty intense smell so leaning over the body for 3 hours at a time is not exactly comfortable, not to mention very bad for us. For example, i cant wear contacts because the formaldehyde fumes will start to stick to them and thats no bueno.
On a good note, i have decided to run for vice president of our class and will know on Aug 20th if i won the position or not. There are 4 or 5 other people running so we'll see what happens!
Tonight is gonna be a fun night of going to dinner with friends and studying. we will see how much studying actually gets done :)
i dissection down, a LOT more smelly ones to go!!!
:)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
not overwhelmed just yet....
Yesterday was the first day of classes and it was a day full of "Introduction to the Study of Medicine" lectures so it wasnt to bad. We did have Intro to Anatomy in the afternoon but the material hasnt piled on...YET. I still studied for a LONG time last night though. Our schedule works out where we have to study and LEARN the information dissected/lectured for the following day. Thus, Mondy night is spent preparing for the dissection to be done on Tuesday morning and a lecture quiz on the same material at the beginning of class which has not yet been taught to us. crazy!
I did not actually dissect today because we have a Group A and Group B. Basically, I will do every other dissection. In each group there are 4 people so they are 8 total working on one cadavar. At the last 30min of lab, the group that did not dissect will come into lab and the dissecting group will go over everything they did and vice versa for the next day. Group A dissected the superficial back muscles today and I (in Group B) came at 11:15 to be shown what they dissected and study the muscles they revealed. Sooooo, I did get to touch, feel, and learn from a cadavar today. A very big deal!!
Our cadavar is a woman that died at the age of 60. I do not know how I feel about this whole situation yet but since we are working on her back muscles right now I think I won't freak out until we start work on the anterior (front) of her body. Either way, I have nothing but respect and gratitude for her decision to donate her body in order for me to become a competent physician.
Tomorrow is another dull day of "Intro to Medicine" with lectures on Self awareness, professionalism, learning styles, Developing an Osteopathic identity, and some other Physician and Society Classes. Thursday morning it is back to the lab when I will be exposing the deep back muscles of the cadavar!
I did not actually dissect today because we have a Group A and Group B. Basically, I will do every other dissection. In each group there are 4 people so they are 8 total working on one cadavar. At the last 30min of lab, the group that did not dissect will come into lab and the dissecting group will go over everything they did and vice versa for the next day. Group A dissected the superficial back muscles today and I (in Group B) came at 11:15 to be shown what they dissected and study the muscles they revealed. Sooooo, I did get to touch, feel, and learn from a cadavar today. A very big deal!!
Our cadavar is a woman that died at the age of 60. I do not know how I feel about this whole situation yet but since we are working on her back muscles right now I think I won't freak out until we start work on the anterior (front) of her body. Either way, I have nothing but respect and gratitude for her decision to donate her body in order for me to become a competent physician.
Tomorrow is another dull day of "Intro to Medicine" with lectures on Self awareness, professionalism, learning styles, Developing an Osteopathic identity, and some other Physician and Society Classes. Thursday morning it is back to the lab when I will be exposing the deep back muscles of the cadavar!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Tomorrow brings new adventures and challenges...
It has been non stop since Monday and I am finally able to sit down at my desk and relax a bit before tomorrow...my first day of classes. I have met so many amazing people in the past week that it is hard to believe i will be meeting even more. I am impressed with Western because they picked a LOT of wonderful people to be in our class.
White coat was yesterday and this whole process of pretending to be a doctor is starting to become real. I had a great day with the parents and then went out to a GREAT party. It was the perfect way to celebrate our LAST NIGHT of absolute, no responsibility, no studying FREEDOM. But, I cannot wait for anatomy to start and to make my first cut in the cadaver. It will all be worth it! Here goes!!!
White coat was yesterday and this whole process of pretending to be a doctor is starting to become real. I had a great day with the parents and then went out to a GREAT party. It was the perfect way to celebrate our LAST NIGHT of absolute, no responsibility, no studying FREEDOM. But, I cannot wait for anatomy to start and to make my first cut in the cadaver. It will all be worth it! Here goes!!!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
An email all first years received...its pretty great
Dear lifelong learners with distinctive philosophies:
To the class of 2012 welcome back and to the class of 2013 welcome! The second
years are finishing up a summer of sun, fun, brain dumping, and traveling
while the first years are enduring orientation filled with bone boxes,
structural exams, (no these do not affect your GPA!) and free night-of-sleep
cards.... yeah, we're guessing you are starting to wonder what you signed up
for this year....
Have no fear! Disorientation 09' is ready to help you let loose, meet your
classmates, mingle our classes together, and have a great time! The following
events have been planned for your imbibing pleasure:
Friday August 7th---Basic life support: disclaimer: mouth to mouth is not
to be used in lieu of medical emergency. That being said come out with your
classmates and fufill some of your most basic needs: food and drink! Dana, Omar and Min have graciously offered their new house to kick off the start of the year.
BYOB, and come enjoy the fire pit around 8:00. A great way to meet your classmates and destress from orientation~!
xxx
Claremont CA 91711
Saturday August 8th---Financial Aid (put to good use) Come out to one of our
favorite post-exam hangouts and learn how to rack up a bar tab with uncle
Sams' financial aid "living expenses" After you purchase your shiny new
stethoscope we promise there will be some leftover cash for fun. So head over
to the brand new outdoor shopping and dining center in Chino Hills. The
Shoppes has three of our favorite places jammed into a convenient location:
Trader Joe's, Ra, and The Yardhouse.
Phase 1: HAPPY HOUR @ RA!!! 3pm-7pm 1/2 off Appetizers, 1/2 Sushi, $1 Hot
Sake, $@ Bud, Bud Light, and Miller Light, $3 Well Drinks, Corona Extra,
Heineken Light, Stella Artois, $4 Cosmos, Apple Martinits, ect. The food and
atmosphere at RA is great. Recommendations: pineapple chicken, calamari
tempura, vegetarian roll, and of course sapporo. 909-902-004
Phase 2: Yardhouse-50 beers on tap and plenty of martinis topped off with
awesome food. This place serves the greatest beers around. Recommendations: Rogue Hazelnut Brown
The Shoppes, 13920 City Center Drive, Chino Hills, Ca 91709
Monday, August 10th--Health and Stress Sessions: First day of class. Not sure
which side of the ophthalmoscope is the end you look in. Not sure what an
ophthalmoscope is. No worries. Your second years are here to help. Since the
class of 2012 will all theoretically be back in action (sure there might be a
few on "extended vacation") come out to Buffalo Wild Wings to get all your
questions answered over some tasty treats and a few beers.
Buffalo Wild Wings
CHINO HILLS (#3333)
3160 Chino Avenue
Chino Hills, CA 91709-3518
Phone: 909-591-9035
Tuesday, August 11th--- Fire safety: the moment you've all been waiting for.
FIRE ON THE BOWLING LANES!!!! You've heard the rumors, our class king is a real
stud. Our class queen knows a few moves herself. (reference facebook circa
2008) Come on out for a big night on the town before life gets crazy and you
are spending far too much time in anatomy or OMM lab. $2.00 games and shoe rentals, See you there at 7:00!
Oak Tree Lanes
990 North Diamond Bar Blvd
Diamond Bar Ca 91765
909-860-3558
ALso please stay tuned for the annual beginning of school party at Dr. Mac's
house. It's tradition for the second years to throw a huge party complete with
swimming, BBQ, dancing and we will be giving aspiring surgeons a chance to practice their hand-eye
coordination at the beer pong tables. More info to follow!
As always, bring your favorite sober DO to give you a ride home!
Your faithful rec leaders,
xxx
*These events are MANDATORY..... not really DEAN'S LETTER..... probably not going to be on it.....
=Do not delete, trust me this will be important later
To the class of 2012 welcome back and to the class of 2013 welcome! The second
years are finishing up a summer of sun, fun, brain dumping, and traveling
while the first years are enduring orientation filled with bone boxes,
structural exams, (no these do not affect your GPA!) and free night-of-sleep
cards.... yeah, we're guessing you are starting to wonder what you signed up
for this year....
Have no fear! Disorientation 09' is ready to help you let loose, meet your
classmates, mingle our classes together, and have a great time! The following
events have been planned for your imbibing pleasure:
Friday August 7th---Basic life support: disclaimer: mouth to mouth is not
to be used in lieu of medical emergency. That being said come out with your
classmates and fufill some of your most basic needs: food and drink! Dana, Omar and Min have graciously offered their new house to kick off the start of the year.
BYOB, and come enjoy the fire pit around 8:00. A great way to meet your classmates and destress from orientation~!
xxx
Claremont CA 91711
Saturday August 8th---Financial Aid (put to good use) Come out to one of our
favorite post-exam hangouts and learn how to rack up a bar tab with uncle
Sams' financial aid "living expenses" After you purchase your shiny new
stethoscope we promise there will be some leftover cash for fun. So head over
to the brand new outdoor shopping and dining center in Chino Hills. The
Shoppes has three of our favorite places jammed into a convenient location:
Trader Joe's, Ra, and The Yardhouse.
Phase 1: HAPPY HOUR @ RA!!! 3pm-7pm 1/2 off Appetizers, 1/2 Sushi, $1 Hot
Sake, $@ Bud, Bud Light, and Miller Light, $3 Well Drinks, Corona Extra,
Heineken Light, Stella Artois, $4 Cosmos, Apple Martinits, ect. The food and
atmosphere at RA is great. Recommendations: pineapple chicken, calamari
tempura, vegetarian roll, and of course sapporo. 909-902-004
Phase 2: Yardhouse-50 beers on tap and plenty of martinis topped off with
awesome food. This place serves the greatest beers around. Recommendations: Rogue Hazelnut Brown
The Shoppes, 13920 City Center Drive, Chino Hills, Ca 91709
Monday, August 10th--Health and Stress Sessions: First day of class. Not sure
which side of the ophthalmoscope is the end you look in. Not sure what an
ophthalmoscope is. No worries. Your second years are here to help. Since the
class of 2012 will all theoretically be back in action (sure there might be a
few on "extended vacation") come out to Buffalo Wild Wings to get all your
questions answered over some tasty treats and a few beers.
Buffalo Wild Wings
CHINO HILLS (#3333)
3160 Chino Avenue
Chino Hills, CA 91709-3518
Phone: 909-591-9035
Tuesday, August 11th--- Fire safety: the moment you've all been waiting for.
FIRE ON THE BOWLING LANES!!!! You've heard the rumors, our class king is a real
stud. Our class queen knows a few moves herself. (reference facebook circa
2008) Come on out for a big night on the town before life gets crazy and you
are spending far too much time in anatomy or OMM lab. $2.00 games and shoe rentals, See you there at 7:00!
Oak Tree Lanes
990 North Diamond Bar Blvd
Diamond Bar Ca 91765
909-860-3558
ALso please stay tuned for the annual beginning of school party at Dr. Mac's
house. It's tradition for the second years to throw a huge party complete with
swimming, BBQ, dancing and we will be giving aspiring surgeons a chance to practice their hand-eye
coordination at the beer pong tables. More info to follow!
As always, bring your favorite sober DO to give you a ride home!
Your faithful rec leaders,
xxx
*These events are MANDATORY..... not really DEAN'S LETTER..... probably not going to be on it.....
Orientation week madness!
This past week has been a crazy mess of meeting people, having drinks, trying to memorize names, and oh yeah...preparing to start school!
Monday night a group of us got together via facebook and other randomness and all met in Clairmont at Michelle's place (Michelle went to state with me and i foresee many night sleeping on her couch) . We ending up coming back there after realizing most bars closed at 11pm. Then the real party began and shots were poured left and right. I believe the motto is work hard, party harder ;)
Tuesday was a hang -over day but quickly turned into another hang out day. I went riding with Nicole in san dimas and went home to prep for the first day of medical school orientation!
After finally falling asleep around 1am i woke up at 5:15am Wednesday....i headed to school for our 7am boot camp..
It has been a long day and i have learned a lot about the process to come. Some things to note: -3,900 people applied to western this year, 550 were interviewed and 222 were selected to our class.
-There are way more guys than girls; i think it was around 95 women and then rest are men ( i am liking the ratio)
-with the great ratio,i have met many many people that are engaged or married
-i am SOOOOO excited to become a D.O. after hearing every professor speak so highly of the school and its reputation
-i learned i am not the only one who has answered "what kind of doctor do you want to be" a million times ;)
-my faculty mentor is amazing and i could not have picked a better match to help me out for the next 4 years
-apparently med students spend more money on alcohol than books because basically no one buys them since we get around 50 pages of powerpoint pages a day to learn (and that is with 3 to 4 slides per page!)
-i will accrue approximately $50,000 of INTEREST debt that will be added to my loans
So Wednesday night a great member of our class decided to host the first med student party for the Class of 2013. I met at Michelle's and we drove over to a new friends place and hung out for a bit. Then it was off to a house party (the first of what i am told will be MANY) and met waaaay more people (which means learning waaaaay more names :/ )
Thursday morning i woke up once again on michelle's couch and we headed to school for 8. We were both tired (and not to hung over i swear! we knew it was gonna be a hard morning so we planned not to drink to much) and we headed to starbucks. Then, it was back in the lecture hall for another day or presentations and speakers. We received a 'bone box' today which is pretty self explanatory...a box of every bone in the body (yes they are real) to study. For those that have not taken anatomy, this is because we dont just need to learn the names of the bone we need to learn every characteristic about every bone. For example, the humerus has the landmarks: the head, anatomical neck, greater tubercle, and intertubular groove of the surgical neck, the trochlea and capitulum, both the medial and lateral epicondyle, the olecrenon fossa and corresponding coronoid fossa, and a portion of the shaft (dont worry i totally just googled that but i kinda knew it from anatomy last semester!).
So now i am back at michelle's hanging out and we are off to the school sponsered Ice Cream Social at the Dean's house from 7 to 8:30 (no i am not 12...they are really doing this)
Monday night a group of us got together via facebook and other randomness and all met in Clairmont at Michelle's place (Michelle went to state with me and i foresee many night sleeping on her couch) . We ending up coming back there after realizing most bars closed at 11pm. Then the real party began and shots were poured left and right. I believe the motto is work hard, party harder ;)
Tuesday was a hang -over day but quickly turned into another hang out day. I went riding with Nicole in san dimas and went home to prep for the first day of medical school orientation!
After finally falling asleep around 1am i woke up at 5:15am Wednesday....i headed to school for our 7am boot camp..
It has been a long day and i have learned a lot about the process to come. Some things to note: -3,900 people applied to western this year, 550 were interviewed and 222 were selected to our class.
-There are way more guys than girls; i think it was around 95 women and then rest are men ( i am liking the ratio)
-with the great ratio,i have met many many people that are engaged or married
-i am SOOOOO excited to become a D.O. after hearing every professor speak so highly of the school and its reputation
-i learned i am not the only one who has answered "what kind of doctor do you want to be" a million times ;)
-my faculty mentor is amazing and i could not have picked a better match to help me out for the next 4 years
-apparently med students spend more money on alcohol than books because basically no one buys them since we get around 50 pages of powerpoint pages a day to learn (and that is with 3 to 4 slides per page!)
-i will accrue approximately $50,000 of INTEREST debt that will be added to my loans
So Wednesday night a great member of our class decided to host the first med student party for the Class of 2013. I met at Michelle's and we drove over to a new friends place and hung out for a bit. Then it was off to a house party (the first of what i am told will be MANY) and met waaaay more people (which means learning waaaaay more names :/ )
Thursday morning i woke up once again on michelle's couch and we headed to school for 8. We were both tired (and not to hung over i swear! we knew it was gonna be a hard morning so we planned not to drink to much) and we headed to starbucks. Then, it was back in the lecture hall for another day or presentations and speakers. We received a 'bone box' today which is pretty self explanatory...a box of every bone in the body (yes they are real) to study. For those that have not taken anatomy, this is because we dont just need to learn the names of the bone we need to learn every characteristic about every bone. For example, the humerus has the landmarks: the head, anatomical neck, greater tubercle, and intertubular groove of the surgical neck, the trochlea and capitulum, both the medial and lateral epicondyle, the olecrenon fossa and corresponding coronoid fossa, and a portion of the shaft (dont worry i totally just googled that but i kinda knew it from anatomy last semester!).
So now i am back at michelle's hanging out and we are off to the school sponsered Ice Cream Social at the Dean's house from 7 to 8:30 (no i am not 12...they are really doing this)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
1 more week
I have exactly one week until I report for duty at orientation at 7am.... I have never been so nervous in my life.
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